Portfolio
ProjectThis project
serves as the final exam for this course. You must complete this
project in order to pass the class.

Project Rationale:

Creating a portfolio
of the work you've done in this class allows you to have a tangible and
meaningful product that you will be able to return to in the future to
read, enjoy, add to, and possibly continue to revise.

The portfolio project
requires that you view and process your work as a whole, allowing you to
better understand where your strengths lie in creative nonfiction, which
pieces may require more work, and which piece you find the most value in.

Project Requirements:

You will revisit
and revise your first three formal essays before and during the last class
meeting.

You will write a
2-3 page essay (approximately 500-750 words) in which you briefly discuss
each of your essays, describe yourself as a writer (style, habits,
likes, dislikes), and explore how that has possibly changed since the beginning
of the course. This essay will serve as the introduction to your
portfolio and can be informal in tone. However, you should
quote from at least one of your essays as in your portfolio essay.
I recommend including small excerpts from more than one.

You will hand in
your portfolio at the end of the last class meeting. If you provide
me with a self addressed stamped envelope, I will mail your portfolio to
you after reading and grading it.

The
following is an example of an introductory essay to a student's end of
the term portfolio project. While your essay will be shorter and
your thoughts unique, I encourage you to consider this essay's reflective
tone and casual voice as models to follow while drafting your own "Author's
Preface"._____________________________________________________________

Author's Preface

It seems that
one element of human nature is to have a critical sense. We can't help
but see, interpret, and judge the things around us. I think this
is why people write. Each of my essays is a critical reaction to
something I have experienced; each was written with it's own purpose; each
purpose dictate's its own style. I suppose the process is similar
to the rule in architecture where form must follow function. In both
cases, a solid construction is the ideal product.

In all aspects
of my life--including writing--I try to avoid essentially boring things.
The first essay in this collection, "Watch Your Step, Annie," is a reaction
to the writing style of the essayist Annie Dillard. This was my first
stab at satire. I found my own initial criticisms of Dillard to be
falling apart as I reread her essays. Her style is deeply layered
with ideas. Depending upon which layer strikes you, your opinion
of her may change. The essay is in letter form, addressed to Dillard herself.
As I began writing the essay, I found a new theme seeping into it on a
separate layer. The criticism of Dillard became secondary to the
discovery of a new theme. I find this discovery to be the most drawing
and entertaining element of the piece.

Satire seems to
come quite naturally to meólikely a testament of by innate ability to be
a jerk. Satire's arrival to a piece is interesting. Sitting
down and saying, "I'm going to write a satirical essay" doesn't work for
me. It seems that certain topics or issues call for satire.
"The Importance of Being Nice" is a second attempt at satire. It
is an angry essay. My audience would not be attracted to another
angry voice claiming to be above all that is corrupt in the world.
The anger is layered and softened by satire. It is made more approachable
to its audienceóa specific college campus. Granted, my ironic
voice is sometimes obvious and biting, but I think satire also adds an
element of entertainment that a straight criticism so often lacks.
The topic needed satire and called out for it.

I also find myself
drawn to simple issues. I'm attracted to small, sometime unnoticeable,
aspects of life. We are generally not very self aware in our daily
lives; we have become numb to our daily actions. "Silence" is a reflection
on a numbness I grew to have for something very beautiful; I only noticed
this numbness when the beauty was far away from me. Again, Dillard
is influential here in choosing purpose and style. She writes about
small things in nature and applies them to greater universal concepts of
the human condition.

Dillard can dazzle
the reader with imagery. I tried to incorporate a temperate usage
of imagery in "Silent Awakening." Although somewhat successful in doing
so, I consequently fell into wordiness; I paid close attention to this
when revising this essay for the portfolio. I softened, but did not
remove, one large metaphor that a reader had suggested I omit. I
also completely cut the original paragraph #8, replacing it with a section
break. Wordiness and unnecessary explanation can cripple a writer's
voice.

Another important
aspect of Dillard's style that I've attempted to incorporate into my own
is her attention to sentence structure. She is masterful in sentence
constructionómanipulating length and rhythm to complement her ideas.
This excerpt form "Silent Awakening" is evident of Dillard's influence
in my writing:

I close
my eyes on long straight stretches and listen to my body; lungs pull in
and push out air; leg muscles find and keep rhythm to the sound of gravel
crunching underneath each stride. Rhythm. Pace. A natural
metronome eases me into thought, creating an extreme sense of self awareness.Eyelids are closed
in the dark.

I am not afraid to
use long sentences. The two one word sentences speak loudly relative
to those around them. I tried to duplicate the rhythm I described
in the sentence by them rhythm of the sentence.

Attention to a
subject's layered simplicity and attention to the language within the essay
were both large influences with "Talking" as well. I also really
wanted to allow my essay to speak for itself. I desired subtlety
when writing "Talking," to entertain with examples and elaborate as little
as possible. I also concentrated on the thinness in word and sentence
style; this was intended to support the essay's purpose.

Although I really
enjoyed writing "Talking," my workshop group and others did not share my
fondness for the final product. They raised questions about it being
too vague, too thin, too incoherent. I disregarded their comments
initially, but I've grown to see the value in them. To be honest,
I see now that the essay needs a good deal of additional work. I
include it here as a work in progress, something in dire need of revision.

I believe that
revision is the most fun and most important element of my writing process;
I've mentioned my distaste for wordy sentences and paragraphs. In
the movie A River Runs Through It, a father teaches his young son how to
write an essay. It begins being four pages long. The man tells
his son to "cut it in half." He brings back two pages a few hours
later and again is told to "cut it in half." This continues until
it appears that he has revised his essay into one good paragraph.
All drama aside, the message is clear.

The recent Lower
Stumpf Lake Review interview with J.F. Powers kept coming into
my mind. He says that "through writing you can find the truth in
many things, in an apple, a squirrel, anything you might pick up and dissect
can lead you back to the maker" (18). Powers says that while a discovery
process is present, the over-ruling purpose of a good writer is "to entertain"
(18). I've included essays that have helped me discover a thing or
two while writing, reading, and revising them. I hope to continue
experiencing these discoveries through writing. And I hope my writing
is entertaining.